Episode:The First Store
The First Store was the 133rd overall episode of The Jeffersons TV series, also the 22nd episode of Season 6. Directed by Bob Lally and written by Jay MOriarty and Mike Milligan, the episode made its premiere on CBS-TV on April 6, 1980. Synopsis As Louise and George look through old photos, they recall George opening his first store in 1968. His opening coincides with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and when news of his death circulates, chaos erupts in the Jeffersons' neighborhood. Storyline The Jeffersons relive April 4th and 5th of 1968: George wants to break out of his impoverished life by opening his own dry-cleaners, at the time, in his vision, which he called "Handy Dandy Cleaners", in spite of the tremendous obstacles thrown in his way by society and the times. In a flashback, George struggles to smother his pride to obtain a loan First Federal Bank of Manhattan, but runs into numerous obstacles, a dilapidated storefront, which he purchased with the little bit of money which he already saved, and which is in great disrepair, needing a major renovation and cleaning, a bigoted minded loan officer, Mr. Drew (Roger Bowen), who insists that the Jeffersons should try to open the store in "a more desirable neighborhood, meaning, in layman's terms, what he really means, a "white" neighborhood, instead of the present neighborhood itself. George was able to secure the loan, but because of the looting and rioting, the loan was contingent on moving the location of that first store out of Harlem. George refused, kicked Mr. Drew (who subtly accused Dr. King, whom he said, had heard of he being a "communist", of being so) out of their apartment and lost the loan. A teenaged Lionel, at this point in time, has been running along with a crowd of youths who are starting to contemplate of looting stores in the area, and who are growing dissatisfied with and bitter towards the more conservative and passive stance of Martin Luther King, Jr., the SCLC, and the Civil Rights Movement in the South, and are taking to the decisively more militant message of "Black Power", and Malcom X's "By Any Means Necessary", which is pervading all through the Harlem streets, which later erupt in complete chaos in the tone of the Black Panther mantra "Burn Baby Burn!" when the news is learned of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in Memphis, TN on the evening of the 4th of April. The next evening at home, still determined to open up that store, George, Louise and Lionel listen to King's final speech,'' I've Been to the Mountaintop"'' (which, within the context of the flashback, had been delivered the night before) playing on the radio. Cast Starring *Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson *Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson *Roxie Roker as Helen Willis *Franklin Cover as Tom Willis *Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston *Paul Benedict as Harry Bentley *Mike Evans as Lionel Jefferson *Berlinda Tolbert as Jenny Willis Jefferson Guest starring/Recurring characters/cast *Roger Bowen as Mr. William Drew *James Keith as Youth #1 *Martin Luther King, Jr. as Himself (voice only, in archive footage) More external links *[http://www.tv.com/shows/the-jeffersons/the-first-store-7015/ The Jeffersons episode "The First Store" at TV.com] Category:Season 6 episodes Category:The Jeffersons episodes